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 Tinnitus interview: Woot!!! Tinnitus is an awesome band from the Rheinbrohl area of Germany. They just totally ROCK & you should buy their music immediately!! Thanx to Peter & Sebastian for answering my questions & to Ron for introducing me to the band & selling me music! :) -Mikki 7/04 DML: How did the band get together and how did you choose the name Tinnitus? Tinnitus: First you have to know, Rheinbrohl is a very, very small village. Everybody knows each other. Normally it sucks. But sometimes it could be helpful. We both are neighbours. We've known each other since we were born. Sebastian and Ron joined the same Handball-Team (Very popular kind of sport in Germany). Bastian and Ron are cousins. Thatīs all, nearly nine years ago we started rocking - like every serious punk rock band - in the garage of Ron's parents. We donīt know if itīs the same word in English. But do you know the terrible sound like "beeeeeeeeep" in your ears. Itīs called "Tinnitus". First time we played together, the sound was so bad that our ears hurt. DML: While speaking of the name Tinnitus, the beginning to your DVD (which is included with the "coram publico" CD) has a guy complaining about your band name. What do you think of people who have nothing better to do than complain about band names and what do you think of his complaint? Tinnitus: We think that this guy was a senior citizen. His opinion was published in a local newspaper. Maybe he has too much time and too less problems. Probably this kind of people will never die out. The song "Ich hasse euch" ("I hate you") on our last record "Auf dem Weg" is dedicated to those people. That's why "Ich hasse euch" is the first song on our DVD. By the way, during the song, you can get some impressions of our "great" village. Maybe you can imaginge that there are a lot of those guys. DML: A friend of mine and I disagreed on whether your sound could be described as punkish (more earlier stuff than later) - How would you describe your sund to people unfamiliar with your music? Tinnitus: Itīs very difficult to describe a sound, because everybody has different ideas of music styles. We think itīs a mix of punk, rock and maybe a bit of pop. But everybody can form his own impression. You can download our songs for free on www.tinnitustrupp.de. DML: Could you tell us what some of your musical influences are and what made you decide to create your own music? Tinnitus: We think that you can not decide to make a special way of music. Everyone of us likes different sounds and bands. So our music is the product of many different influences. For example: Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Green Day, The Offspring, Beatsteaks, Tocotronic, Turbonegro, Sportfreunde Stiller, Die Ärzte, Die toten Hosen... DML: Your debut album, "Auf dem Weg" was great! Why did it take 5 years to come out with your newest, "coram publico" (which also great!) and what did you do during this time? Tinnitus: First we had to form our sensitive and virginal bodies to real Rock 'n' Roll bodies (Put a lot of beer into it, tattoo....). :-) No, after the release of "Auf dem Weg" we played a lot of gigs across the BRD and Austria. We met several people who thought to know what is the best for us. Just one example: We recorded a song with Alanah Miles which was called "Bad for you". The raw recording was not bad but it was never published because some people dinīt get up off their asses. So we wasted more and more time. (By the way, Alanah is really arrrogant, although she had just one hit a long, long time ago) After all, we recognized that nothing is better than relying on yourself. We went to the studio on our own. DML: How do you feel your style has changed since you first started making music? Tinnitus: We think that "coram publico" is better than the old album. The sound is more musical and the lyrics are more expressive. The reason is that we have developed during the last five years. The next album will be much different, too. We finished five songs already, and they are much harder than the songs on "coram publico". Letīs see what will happen. DML: What Tinnitus songs do you think best express your views on life and why? Tinnitus: Every song expresses our life from different views. For example "Pussy". In german - except the sexual meaning - itīs a hard expression for a shy and boring weakling. We want to make party like thereīs no tomorrow. And thatīs what we say in this song. The chorus means "No, I donīt want to be a pussy". On the other hand there are also some critical or melancholic songs like "Meine Generation" = "my generation" and "Amerika" which goes out to the amateur-alcoholic George W. Bush, our great 'idol'. DML: How do you like the Rheinbrohl area and how hard was it for you to get into the local (and later nationwide) scene? Tinnitus: We like it so much, that we dedicated a song to it: "Ich hasse euch" = "I hate you". DML: From your DVD, your live shows look action packed!!! Can the US ever hope for a tour (or is our president and Mouse too scary??? ;))? Tinnitus: We would be proud to rock the US. You just have to find a sponsor who will pay the flight tickets and we will be there. (We play and sleep everywhere like bitches) DML: What have been some of your best and worst experiences while playing live? Tinnitus: The best experiences are our concerts. Everytime itīs great to be on stage. That's why we make music. Sure, we had some bad experiences. For example a car crash after a concert in munich a few years ago. Thanks god that nobody was killed but our whole equiptment was damaged. DML: Looking at the "Auf dem Weg" CD cover, I don't really notice any tattoos (maybe one) but I notice several on the DVD and in the "coram publico" booklet... What prompted all the tattoo art? Tinnitus: As we said above it took us five years to form nearly perfect rock 'n' roll bodies. Besides, never drink in a tattoo studio. DML: What do you do when not making music? Tinnitus: Form our rock 'n' roll bodies. :-) We are students. Ron is working for an advertising agency and Bastian works in a store for car stuff. DML: What goals do you have for the future (besides rocking the US, right????)? Tinnitus: After rocking the US, we want to play concert across the BRD. Than we hope to go to the recording studio again and get rich and famous. More at: |
